Sony WF-1000XM3 vs Bose SoundSport: Which to Buy?

Bose Soundsport

This is the review of the comparison between two earbuds from two different brands such as the Sony and Bose. The comparison here is between the Sony WF-1000XM3 and the Bose SoundSport. There is around fifty dollars difference in their price range currently on Amazon which makes the difference in their features and performances. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

Sony WF-1000XM3Bose Soundsport
Sony WF-1000XM3Bose Soundsport
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PROSPROS
Active noise cancellation works exceptionally well.
The audio quality is great.
EQ adjustment allows for musical tweaking.
Battery life is excellent.
Very comfortable.
Bluetooth connectivity.
Works with Siri and Google Now. Sweat-resistant Sounds great.
CONSCONS
No waterproofing.
Frequent fliers may miss a cable option.
No wireless charging.
No on-earbud volume controls.
Battery life tops out at 6 hours.
The app doesn’t add much value. The remote box drags cable around your neck to the right.
High price.

SPECIFICATIONS:

MODELSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
BrandSonyBose
ModelWF-1000XM3SoundSport
HEADPHONESSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
Headphones Form FactorIn-EarIn-Ear
Headphone TechnologyWirelessWireless
Sound Output Modestereo
CONNECTIONSSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
TypeBluetooth, USB(power only)Bluetooth
Connector TypeUSB Type-C
REMOTE CONTROLSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
Audio ControlsNoise-cancellation suspend buttonanswer/end, volume
ControlsNoise-cancellation suspend buttonVolume, answer/end
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
Width
Depth
Height
Weight0.6 oz0.81 oz
POWERSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
Capacity
Battery Life8 hour(s)6 hour(s)
Recharge Time1.5 hour(s)2 hour(s)
FEATURESSONY WF-1000XM3BOSE SOUNDSPORT
FeaturesVoice assistant function (Google Assistant)

Industry-leading Digital Noise Cancellation

Touch controls

Sony I Headphones Connect for Android and iOS
Stay Hear+ Sport tips are designed for the utmost comfort and stability, with a soft silicone material and a unique shape that sits gently in your ear.

Bluetooth and NFC pairing so you can connect to your devices wirelessly.

Volume-optimized EQ gives you balanced audio performance at any volume.

Lithium-ion battery delivers up to 6 hours per charge.

Bose Connect app helps manage paired devices and gives you a personalized experience.

INTRODUCTION:

Sony WF-1000XM3

These WF-1000XM3 are made by the same company Sony that also created and terribly named the WH-1000XM3 which are beloved by many people. Recently the price has dropped considerably, which makes these a very tempting option if you’re looking for earbuds that have active noise cancellation and good sound quality as well. 

Bose SoundSport

Bose sound sport wireless headphones are some earbuds more than headphones. They’re wireless earbuds they’re made by Bose and Bose is one of the better quality, better sound quality, just better overall quality headphones brand, they’ve been in the game for a while. These headphones are engineered to stay in place and stay comfortable. Whether your phone is in your hand or in your pocket or anywhere, it plays clearly and consistently.

Sony WF-1000XM3

DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY:

Sony WF-1000XM3

As far as the design of these earbuds, if you’re used to using something like Airpods Pro these WF-1000XM3 might look huge, and compared to those earbuds the WF-1000XM3 with noise cancellation is on the slimmer side. The WF-1000XM3 comes in two colors black and copper, and a silver that’s more of ivory with copper accents. Each earbud weighs about 8.5 grams and is roughly 3.2 centimeters long and about the same length from the edge of the ear tips to the touchpads.

They have the 6-millimeter driver which powers the noise cancellation that’s the same driver found in the WH-1000XM3 over-ear Sony headphones. To support noise cancellation and phone calls, each earbud has two microphones, one facing forward and the other back to help analyze ambient sound, again for noise canceling.

Bose SoundSport

The headphones are really very nice right and the best part of any unboxing is it’s always satisfactory to pull the little plastic off. They look a little weird you do have this little black and little circle sticking out of your ear. It’s not too bad it’s just there but honestly, it’s not that big as I have like a normal-sized ear, and it kind of sticks up this a little bit but nothing too crazy not too noticeable doesn’t look funny or anything.

You do have the wire right there which you could put in the back if you don’t want it in your way you can just flip it around. Even it does have a little clip as well, where you can clip it to your shirt if you don’t want the wire bouncing around you can just have it clipped to your shirt. It does give you a couple of different options which is always nice.

Bose-soundsport

COMFORT:

Sony WF-1000XM3

Even though Sony has been able to cram much tech into these small earbuds, they’re still very comfortable to wear. Sony has added high friction rubber surface around the edges of the earbuds, where they contact your ear to keep them in place. They use what they call a try hold structure and the shape of the ear tips themselves which kind of curve uphold pretty well in the ears and don’t feel like I have something jammed in my ears. I’ve had these earbuds on for hours without discomfort, although it does take a few times to wear them to get the right fit for your particular ears. They should kind of face forward and not down as your first tendency might be.

Bose SoundSport

I will be using these more than I will be using my beats specifically for when I go traveling anytime I get on an airplane I always used the beats with me but now I will use these headphones. While this isn’t up to par with the quality on those beats headphones, just the luxury of not having a big you know ear band they’re in there. They’re really comfortable once I put them in there I forget that they’re here I could leave them in ears all day, I don’t feel like they’d be uncomfortable the beats after about 30 minutes of wearing it just start to get a little uncomfortable and you have the freedom of the wire as they are wireless Bluetooth connected so, you don’t have to worry about bringing your phone with you, you can leave your phone on the table walk away to the fridge back there and go get something to drink and not have to bring your phone with you not have to have a long wire dangling around, so that is nice.

You can use these more when you are traveling and a little quick jog around the apartment. They stayed in place they don’t really fall out even if you shake your head very much they don’t really fall anywhere. So, they do fit well the standard ear tips that came with it worked fine for me I didn’t have to switch them out or anything.

Bose Soundsport

FEATURES:

Sony WF-1000XM3

One of my favorite features other than the in-app EQ which I don’t really news but it is cool to have the ability to adjust the tonal balance is the fact that I just found out that these have a hot-swap ability. What is this is supposing you are connected to your computer or your phone, and you want to have another device that has already been previously paired to this connection to it, you don’t have to go to your existing device and it disconnect Bluetooth or you don’t have to put this into pairing mode, what you do is on the other device that you’ve already paired to you just look for this Sony’s in the Bluetooth list menu you hit connect these, earpieces will automatically unpair themselves from the existent device that they’re connected to, and then pair themselves to that device, which is seamless.

In terms of the performance of the ambient aware mode on these, however, it does effectively allow you to listen in on your environments but the naturalness to the way the sound is is kind of it has a washy sound like the over-ear rather does like the WH-1000XM3. It doesn’t sound as natural as the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 or the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless where it literally sounds like you no longer have the headphones on your head, with these the audio that comes in sounds forced, it sounds kind of pushy but you do definitely hear what’s going on around you, and it’s great to be able to have that feature as opposed to not having it at all.

Sony does use its own processing algorithm which is the DSEE HX which is supposed to upscale the non lossless audio to high-res. Supposedly, to be honest, I really don’t hear a difference when I switch it on and off, but I just leave it on because it doesn’t destroy the music when it’s on but why not just leave it on it supposedly increases the resolution. In terms of the measurements, it’s increasing the frequencies in the music that we really can’t even hear because the high res music is more about increasing the frequencies beyond 20 kilohertz, which is not going to be much benefit to the human because we don’t hear beyond 20 kilohertz. So, the Bluetooth connection on this is pretty good overall, they’re quite stable, I don’t have any issues with these when I’m walking through the city because there’s a lot of wireless interference there so I can’t really knock them for not being able to sustain a connection. But it does occasionally cut in and out when I’m in the city because of all that interference.

Bose SoundSport

These headphones come in a basic white box with SoundSport written on it and with an image of the earbuds themselves. On the bottom, you will see it just says Wireless in a few different languages. Then you will see bose in front and when coming to the side you just get bose right there also and the same thing on the side. On the bottom, you just get just that copyright information nothing really important there. On the back, you get just a little read up on the headphones themselves and a few different languages and that’s pretty much it. So, really not much to the box.

To open the box you need to take the slipcover off and put that to the side. It comes in a black box that you should be familiar with it, almost every electronic comes in this style of the box but just black you got Bose and white everything else is plain. So, there you got the little flap there which I’m not sure if it’s magnetic or not it feels like it might be but it’s a very weak magnet. When you will open you will get the image of the headphones and you just got some little quote right there and then when you will go ahead and open it up even more so you will get the headphones and there’s even an app with the headphones that you can download and then you just get that right there. So there are the headphones in the packaging I keep saying headphones but I know they are earbuds.

With the headphones we got just a bunch of paperwork underneath, some silica gel, you get some extra and different ear tips right there i.e. small large and the other they’re more of a medium, then you get a little carrying case which is actually really nice and it has a decent look. So, basically every set of headphones nowadays I think comes with these I didn’t know earbuds did as well but you got the little carrying case made of I don’t know what the material is if you’ve ever owned a pair of Beats headphones or anything like that it’s that same like is it fabric and also you get little keychain clip with it which is nice and then you just go ahead and open that up and you will get the little foam insert which we don’t need and there you go so you get space for the headphones a little pouch section right there. It’s pretty basic so, the Bose letters are slightly raised not by much but you can tell they are slightly raised. Then you get a micro USB to charge the headphones because they are Wireless so that’s always nice. The headphone is held in little space like teeth right there so you just have to pull through that on both sides and that is it.

Sony WF-1000XM3

BATTERY AND ITS LIFE:

Sony WF-1000XM3

The earbuds are supposed to give you about six hours of battery life when you have noise-canceling turned on, but in my use, I found that that was closer to the five-hour mark. Without noise cancellation though, you get about 8 hours of battery life, so these are beefier than your typical earbuds, but they’ve got to fit in the battery.

Bose SoundSport

The battery life of these earbuds is Up to 6 hours per charge. These SoundSport wireless headphones do not have noise-canceling technology. The Quick Charging Times 15 Minutes for 1 Hour. The recharge Time is of 2 Hours. These earbuds do have a Rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The case provides 10 hours of battery life.

sony-wf-1000XM3

SOUND:

Sony WF-1000XM3

When active noise cancellation is engaged on this particular product, when you raise the volume to a little bit higher or near the max volume or at max volume, these don’t really get that loud, so you can max these out and it’ll still be comfortable to your ears. So, at about max volume or near that, when you’re listening to any songs that have quite complex treble frequencies going on, it begins to distort in the treble range when the active noise cancellation or the ambient awareness is activated.

However, when you turn off the active noise cancellation, those distortion artifacts completely go away, so it’s the active noise cancellation that essentially misinterprets those frequencies from the earpieces as the sound from around you. So, it kind of jumbles up the audio, it’s not a big issue but it’s noticeable when you’re critically listening that it is distorting the treble frequencies on certain songs that have complex passages in that region. So, it’s pretty much the limitation of the technology but I just want to notate that, this does suffer from some slight treble distortion with active noise-canceling, and if you have the volume high as well as that treble region being quite complex from the music.

Bose SoundSport

The sound quality on these, it’s not bad by any means but it does feel a little flat there’s not as much basis I would like in it and just the audio itself just seems a little flat I was expecting a little more from these Bose headphones the only other pair of like high priced headphones that I have or a pair of Beats solos the original pair which are at least maybe five years old if not more and those still hold up really well. The sound quality on those granted it is a bigger earpiece if you have bigger speakers and subwoofers or whatever inside. So you are going to get more bass but even the sound quality and the noise-canceling, I feel is better on those obviously these are two different styles of headphones to compare.

Bose Soundsport

WHICH TO BUY?

The Sony WF-1000XM3 literally kind of take all the boxes, you have great noise isolation which is very important to the sound experience because of its active noise cancellation, this always matter how good anything sounds when you’re out commuting. If it has poor noise isolation the song quality is literally going to go out the window and because of all the environmental sounds, it’s going to destroy the dynamic range and the subtle nuances in the music. You have USB-C charging, a great sound quality, great microphone performance, and battery life is really up there in terms of the truly wireless category. If someone’s looking for the best truly wireless earphones that you can currently buy on the market, I highly recommend the Sony WF-1000 XM3.

Expert Reviews of Sony WF-1000XM3:

By liveatpc.com
I’ll get straight to the point. At RM 949, these earbuds are not cheap. For the most part, however, you get what you pay for. Of course, we have to take its price into account, so. Are the WF-1000XM3s good all-around true wireless earbuds? Sort of.Are…

By pokde.net
The Sony WF-1000XM3 is a pretty solid offering and is definitely one of the best ones around among truly wireless…

By MobileSyrup
I’ve been using Sony’s latest wireless earbuds, the ‘WF-1000XM3s’, for more than a month and they’re fantastic. While I’ve experienced struggles with the earbuds, there’s one phrase that thoroughly explains my feelings about them: “Sony, take my money.”…

By goodhousekeepin.co.uk
While these wireless headphones are expensive, if you’re looking for incredible sound quality, they’re well worth investing in. They offer an ideal balance between treble and bass, and the audio and noise-canceling tech can be tweaked to suit your…

By Andriod Central
I wouldn’t say reviewing phones is easy, but there’s a sameness to it. You unbox it, put your SIM in, set it up, and start using it as the phone before it. You do some tests — call quality, photos, maybe a drop test if you’re feeling bold — and…

Expert Reviews of Bose SoundSport:

By expert reviews
Overall, the Bose SoundSport Wireless is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they fit securely and sound great; on the other, the cable slips to the side when you’re walking or running and battery life is disappointing.

By HotHarware
If you are looking for ultra light-weight Bluetooth headphones with exquisite sound for that audiophile on your list, check out the SoundSport Wireless Headphone by Bose. Weighing in just under an ounce (0.8oz), the lithium-ion battery will keep the tunes rolling for up to 6 hours on a 2-hour charge. It offers Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity and is sweat and weather resistant. With an audio quality known only from Bose (nothing compares, in our opinion, to Bose’s low-end response) and its Stay Hear+ tips, your music lover will have comfort, style, and bodacious beats, even during intense athletic activities.

By IndiaToday
The SoundSport Wireless is the best wireless sports headphones you can buy – they are supremely comfortable and unlike the AirPods, also sound excellent. A home run from Bose that for once does not break the bank.

By TechGearLab
Delivering top-quality sound, the Bose SoundSport has enough audio juice to keep you delightfully entertained on a plane ride or during your commute. However, the earbuds themselves don’t have quite as streamlined a design as some other models, making them slightly less well suited to high octane workouts.

By Tom’s Guide
Excellent audio quality and a comfortable fit make the bulky Bose Soundsports a great set of Bluetooth earbuds.